


Classified

by Zeahart03



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fan Characters, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:09:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25908652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeahart03/pseuds/Zeahart03
Summary: Nemo Kimura was ill for most of her life, and always feeling like death was ready to take her at any turn. One night, a leather bound black notebook fell from the sky. After soon finding out that the notebook belonged to a shinigami, Nemo gets a feeling that a powerful tool like this should be kept out of the wrong hands. What will she do when a new contender enters unleashing his own power onto the world?
Relationships: L (Death Note)/Original Female Character(s), L (Death Note)/Reader
Kudos: 40





	1. Temptation

The desolate plane of Shinigami Realm left a bitter taste in the god's mouth. Gin sat on a rock, staring at the empty land in front of him. The shinigami narrowed his eyes behind his boney mask. He felt tired of it all. 'Where the hell was the excitement?' Gin thought to himself. 

"What the matter, Gin? Things gotten ya down?" Another shinigami flew next to him.

"I'm not in the mood." Gin muttered.

"You're never in the mood. You're always moping around at your stupid rock." The shinigami huffed.

"Yeah, well, at least that's better than nothing, Ryuk." 

The shinigami chuckled. "Yeah, I heard you conned some poor guy out of giving up his death note." 

"I heard you stole someone's death note, then dropped it in the human world." 

Ryuk chuckled, again. "Seems like we're both looking for something to do, eh?"

"Do you think anyone has picked up your death note yet?" Gin asked, his boney knees up to his chest.

"Probably, I don't know. From the looks of it, no one has picked up your death note, either."

"Don't be so sure, Ryuk. I know exactly where my notebook is."

Ryuk smirked. "Huh. Interesting. Where might it be?"

"In a human hospital."

"How odd." 

Gin stood up for a moment, and stretched out his charcoal wings. "I'll see you in the human world, Ryuk."

He jumped down into the black abyss. His wings soaring through the sky as he made his decent into the human world. 

The hospital was cold and dark. It was the dead of night, and no one, but the staff, was awake. A young woman laid in bed, analyzing the ceiling as her conscience began nagging her to go to sleep. The bleakness of the hospital room only seemed to consume her sanity. The only noise seemed to be the occasional beeping from the machine she was hooked up to. 

Her head began to ache. She was already on a lot of pain medication, so there wasn't anything that she could do. She felt depressed, just laying in bed with a barely functioning body.

She wanted to be so much more than to be chained to a bed, by ailments that had taunted her since birth. She was a detective in the middle of a case, but unfortunately, another flare began to clog her senses.

She wanted to cry, but she just couldn't. She carried a great sadness. Her own mother died in the middle of the cold and dry December. She felt detached from the world.

Nemo was her name, at least that's what people call her. She felt like a shell of the person she used to be. The thing is she wasn't even that old. She was the youthful age of 25, yet she felt like she was at the end of her years.

Her laptop gently hummed, gaining her attention for just a moment. She had gotten a notification.

It seemed that the case she was working on was solved in a matter of days, and all the credit went to a guy that was barely on the case.

She tossed her laptop to the side, just pissed off by the way she was treated by her department.

In the corner of her eye, she saw a notebook drop from three stories.

'How curious,' she thought. She got out of her hospital bed, and walked outside. It was tge middle of August, but the night was still cooler than the day. The notebook seemed to fall in a bush, a little outside her window. She took the notebook that was laying on the ground. It was black and had bold white letters that said 'Death Note'. She held the notebook close to face. The letters seemed a bit blurry since she forgot her glasses in her room. She walked back inside, discreetly holding the note.

When she got to her room, she put on her glasses and began to read the notebook's rules.

"Looks like you finally found it. Took you long enough." A voice said, in the shadows.

"Who was that? Who's there?" Nemo dropped the notebook.

"Don't be alarmed. I noticed that you took an interest in my notebook." The voice chuckled.

"Your notebook? I'm sorry I didn't know that this belonged to you." She said, apologetically.

"Do you know what I am?"

"I've got a hunch." Nemo had been close to death many times, but never got to see it in person. 

The voice rose from the shadows of the dark room. The creature was tall and lanky. It seemed to be covered by some kind of animal pelt.

Nemo stood there, looking up at the creature. She didn't seem to have any fear on her face. 

"You seem quite calm for someone that's face to face with a god of death." The creature chuckled.

"I've grown accustomed to death, and when you always end up in a place like this, you stop fearing death." 

The shinigami grinned. "I am the shinigami, Gin."

Nemo smiled back at Gin. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I do have just one question."

Gin stepped closer into the light, showing a little more of his features.

"About the Death Note, what happens if I don't use it at all?" Nemo asked.

Gin tilted his head. "Hmm, I don't think anything will happen. Why? Are you hesitant to use it?"

"Well, I want to use it on myself. I want to choose how I die. You see, all my life I've been told that there was a change I'd never see past my 20th birthday." Nemo paused for a second. "But I'm sick of everyone saying what I can and cannot do."

"I see, well that's certainly interesting. Alright, Nemo. We'll see how this plays out." Gin handed Nemo a pen. "Just incase you wanted to do it now to get it over with, but I can see your lifespan. It's all up to you."

Nemo hesitated, but rejected the pen. "No, not now. I don't want to do it now."

Gin chuckled. "I thought so. Another thing I should mention is that you can give up ownership of the Death Note, but then I'd have to erase your all memories pertaining to the Death Note."

Nemo laid back into the hospital bed. "I see. But, I don't think I'll be giving it up that easily."

"Heh, just letting you know that's an option too." The shinigami shrugged.

"Of course. I should be heading to sleep, now. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be able to leave this wretched place." Nemo's eyes slowly began to close as the dawn of a new day peaked around the corner.


	2. Reckless

It had been a few years since Nemo had found herself profoundly sick, again. On rare occasions, she used the death note as a last resort for self defense. During that time, she had moved to Japan to study abroad. She wanted to travel the world, and Japan was on her list. She had a few cousins in the Kanto region that could help her settle in, but other than that, she was completely left to own devices.

However, she began to sense that maybe she wasn't the only one using a death note.

This was merely speculation on her part, but it was no surprise that someone or something was using a death note to kill criminals all over the world.

"Well, what makes you think it's a death note?" Gin asked, munching on a black board eraser. As Nemo got to know Gin, she began to realize that he had a strange obsession with eating things that weren't necessarily food.

"Well, think about it, it's a series of heart attack among criminals all over the world, not only that, they all seem to be happening at the exact same time. Almost to prove a statement." Nemo opened her laptop, and searched up the strange case of heart attacks. 

"Interesting." The shinigami said with his mouth full.

"Oh, shit. I'm late to the ICPO." Nemo grabbed her laptop and bag, and ran out the door. 

"Wait! Don't leave me alone!" Gin cried.

But, Nemo was way ahead of him.

  
The meeting seemed long and drawn out. Lots of arguments took place on whether or not this was a mass murder.

"Mr. Yagami, I'm sorry for being late." Nemo apologized, sitting next to Soichiro Yagami, police chief of the Japanese task force.

"No problem. Just take your seat." He said.

Nemo was studying under him, and he welcomed her in the task force with open arms. Nemo may have been just an amateur detective to these guys, but she knew a key detail in the operation. There was a death note involved. 

"If that's the case, it looks as if we'll have no choice but to bring in L." The room got quiet.

Nemo had heard of L in the past, but never really thought about who he was.

"So, why is L so important?" Nemo whispered.

"Right, I forgot that this was your first time at a meeting like this. No one knows L's true identity or whereabouts. However, he's managed to solve every case he's ever been on. He's tackle some of the greatest mysteries this world has ever known. He's a last resort, our trump card." Soichiro explained.

Nemo gasped at his words. This man seemed unreal, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

"Besides we don't even know how to contact him." 

"L is already on the move."

The delegates began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Who's that?" Nemo asked, keeping her voice low.

"That's Watari, the only known person who can contact L." Soichiro said.

An altered voice came from a computer screen with a picture of the letter L on it. "Greetings to everyone in the ICPO. I am L."

"Make no mistake, we are witnessing an atrocious case of mass murder." L explained. "I need full cooperation from every here in the ICPO, as well as additional resources from Japan's National Police Agency."

"What? Why Japan in particular?" Soichiro asked.

Nemo seemed starstrucked at the idea.

"There's a strong possibility that the guilty party may be Japanese, or hiding in Japan for the time being."

"What is all this based on?" Nervous sweat was beating off of Soichiro.

"Why Japan, you ask? I think I'll be able to provide you with proof of that after I directly confront the culprit. In addition to that, I'd to set up investigation headquarters in Japan." Afterwards, L promptly switched off, and the meeting was done.

  
At home, Nemo couldn't help but ponder on the case.

"What makes him think that the killer is in Japan?" She thought out loud.

"I don't know." Gin muttered. "Maybe it's got something to do with your death note theory."

"You got a point there. Now, I know that you don't care for this detective stuff, but Mr. Yagami put me in a compromising position. I'm supposed to try and find a link of some sorts, but this all is the work of a death note. I'm sure of it." Nemo stared at her computer screen for a while.

Gin chuckled. "You seem quite confident about that."

"It's just a theory, but I really hope that's not the case." Nemo pushed her glasses up to the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh, this is giving me a headache." Gin groaned. "Do you have anything else to eat?"

"What? Did you already go through all of the pantry?" Nemo smirked.

"No, but all you're scented markers are gone, and I'd like more." Gin groaned, as he stuck his boney mask through the cupboards.

Nemo chuckled. "Yeah, I'll put it on the list."

"So, this L guy, he seems pretty smart." Gin flopped onto her bed, gnawing what appeared to be a pipe cleaner.

"Yeah, I heard he's the best of the best. I'm not so sure about his 'confrontation' though." Nemo turned on the TV, watching the news.

"Already doubting him, eh?" Gin growled. "Just a question, where did you put the death note?"

Nemo smirked. "Somewhere."

"Oh, you're not gonna tell me. I see how it is." Gin rolled his eyes. "You should trust me more."

"I'm sorry, but trusting you completely would be the reason that I die." Nemo laughed. "Besides, I don't need to use it."

"Yeah, yeah. You know, you're pretty boring for a human. All you ever do is solve pointless cases, and you've only ever used the death note is when you killed that one guy who was stalking you." Gin had a point. 

Nemo sighed, leaning back in her chair. "It's because I'm afraid of it's power. I don't want to use it, because I want to be ready when I have to."

"A strong sense of morality, huh? That's what's preventing you." Gin took a pen off of her desk. "I'm eating this by the way."

"Have at it. It's not like I need to write." Nemo scoffed.

  
A few days later, the man behind the mass murders seemed to have garnered a name for himself.

"Kira, huh?" Nemo mumbled, as she stared at her screen. "Why that name?"

"It's a fitting name, huh?" Gin chuckled. "That guy must think he's so powerful."

"Ego, much?" Nemo chuckled. 

Her phone began to ring. Nemo quickly picked up.

"Ms. Kimura, we need your presence at the NJPA." Mr. Yagami said, through the phone. "Be sure to bring your notes."

"I'm on it." Nemo ended the call and began packing up her notes and her laptop. "Gin, I have to go, stay here."

Gin rolled his eyes. "I'm not your pet. I can go wherever I want."

"Fine, just don't follow me." Nemo ran out the door.

The NJPA wasn't far from where Nemo lived, but it sure as hell of a long walk. As she was walking, she felt a slight pain in her chest. However, she decided to ignore it. 

The pain eventually got stronger, and she felt a little light headed. She continued to walk up until she got to the front doors.

"Nemo! Are you ok?" One of Nemo's coworkers, Matsuda, asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Nemo groaned. "I'll be ok."

"Oh, ok." Mastuda said. "Well, we're all waiting for you in the conference room."

This was L's big moment. Everyone in the conference room watched as L broadcasted his face, and name to the entire world.

"I am Lind L. Taylor, otherwise known as L." The man presumed to be L began to speak.

'Lind L. Taylor?' Nemo thought. 'That can't be right.'

"So this is how it all begins." Soichiro said, watching intently at the screen.

"This is impossible? That can't be L, can it?" Nemo said, turning her head towards her coworker.

"Yeah, why would L show his face now?" Matsuda asked.

"L must be serious about this case." Soichiro concluded.

As Lind L. Taylor spoke, Nemo couldn't help but feel more anxious about it all.

"Kira, I will hunt you down. I will find you." 

Nemo began chewing on lip. This couldn't be serious. This seemed too risky.

"Kira, I got a pretty good idea on what you're motivation might be, and I can guess what you hope to achieve. However, what you're doing right now is evil." The room got quiet.

Nemo felt light headed again. She grabbed a chair.

"Nemo, are you-"

"I'm fine, Matsuda." Nemo said, cutting Matsuda off. "Just pay attention, alright?"

The tension in the room began to increase. Just then, Lind L. Taylor collapsed to the ground holding his chest.

Nemo's eyes couldn't believe it. It wasn't just murder. This proved her theory to be true. Someone had the power of a death note.

"Oh my God." She whispered. 

The TV broadcasted a picture of the letter L, and that computerized voice began to speak.

"Come on, and try to kill me." L taunted.

Nemo got sudden relief, but this wasn't a triumph. Her worst fear was proven true.

"Well, Kira, it seems that you can't kill me after all." L said.

Nemo smirked slightly. 'You reckless bastard, L.' She thought.

It was confirmed that Kira was in Japan. Nemo chuckled slightly. Kira sure as hell was childish.

"Let's meet again soon, Kira." L promptly ended the broadcast.

However, long after the show, Nemo felt a sense of fear. There was someone out there that was using the death note for evil. They seemed to have this false sense of justice, and eliminated anyone against them.

She headed home. Not even paying attention to Gin, she searched her room for the notebook. She held onto its black leather spine.

She needed to find Kira before L, and before the police, just so she could put a stop to it. She thought about L's broadcast. Never in a million years had she seen someone be so reckless. 


	3. Distrust

It had been a week since the first showdown of L vs. Kira, and Nemo was working overtime at the NJPA headquarters.

These meetings were unbelievably boring, and could put someone to sleep in a matter of minutes. Because of this, Nemo got two cups of coffee, just so she didn't pass out.

"Hey night owl," Another one of her coworkers, Aizawa, joked, sitting next to her. "Drinking two cups at the same time. How the hell are you suppose to sleep?"

"That's the point, genius. If I fall asleep at this meeting, I'll miss lots of important information." Nemo took a sip of one of coffees.

"Ha, what important information? It's just gonna be the same old stuff." Aizawa said.

"I suppose." Nemo said, rolling her eyes.

"Ms. Kimura, could you please tell us the approximate time the victims experienced heart attacks?" Mr. Yagami asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, yes. We found that all of them occurred between the hours of 4 p.m. and 2 a.m. on weekdays, local time, with 68% of them occurring between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m." Nemo said, reading off the data sheet.

"That information is extremely relevant to us. Our suspect could very well be a student." L said, through the computer screen. "I've also deducted that this Kira might aspire to be a godlike figure, with a black and white sense of right and wrong."

Nemo jotted some notes down. "All this may be true, but who's to say that the culprit isn't a student?" Nemo thought aloud.

"This is all just mere speculation at this point. On the off chance is that Kira isn't a student, we'd have to look at other evidence to prove them otherwise." L seemed to be speaking directly to Nemo. "Excellent question, Ms. Kimura."

Nemo nodded and smiled slightly, writing down her notes.

Matsuda stood up. "Another observation is that we saw a dramatic decrease in the rate of violent crime, especially here in Japan."

Nemo nodded at that too. "He's got a point, but it'd make sense, because Kira is killing criminals."

"Oh, right." Matsuda sat down.

"Right, I think that concludes our report for today." Mr. Yagami dismissed.

"Thank you, everyone. I feel like we're one step closer to catching Kira. I would like to make one last request, please research how the victims' identities were made public, especially the names and faces." L logged off afterwards.

Two weeks went by, and it seems that Kira's pattern of killings seemed to fluctuate.

At first, the pattern stumped her. It soon dawned on her that Kira was purposely using the death note to write down time of death too. Not only that, someone was leaking information outside the task force.

However, she wasn't the first to come to this conclusion. It seemed that her and L were both thinking the same thing.

"Mr. Yagami," Nemo announced, " I've come to the conclusion that there might be some leaks that Kira might've gotten his hands on. Just when we hypothesized that Kira might be a student, the change in deaths started to occur."

"I see your point." Soichiro nodded.

"Not only that, but I've analyzed some of the victims, and it seems to determine that Kira can kill anyone at any given time." Nemo pointed to the data on the graph.

"Interesting, Ms. Kimura. I was thinking the same thing." L said. "You seem to be just as interested in this case as I am."

"Well, I'm determined to catch Kira. Even if it costs me everything." Nemo looked down at her notes. "Death is already rampant in our society. We don't need someone killing criminals to add onto that."

With Nemo saying this, tension in the police force only seemed to rise. Soon people started resigning.

"Looks like they couldn't handle the case." Gin chuckled.

"It's not funny, Gin. People are resigning left and right, and I'm the only person who hasn't left in my department." Nemo flopped down on the bed. 

"Well, maybe it's a sign. You should just quit now, and be over it." Gin said, chuckling.

"Yeah, right. Like I'm gonna do that." Nemo scoffed. 

Her laptop seemed to have gotten a notification. 

"More work stuff?" Gin groaned.

"It's an email from L." Nemo replied. 

_Dear Ms. Kimura,_

_I'm writing this to tell you that I strongly agree with your theory about the leaked information in the task force. However, I've got a task to ask of you, since you seem to be the only one in the task force I can trust._

_I've sent a team of 12 FBI agents to Japan. I believe that you're familiar with the FBI, since you used to work so closely with them a couple years back. No one in the task force needs to know about this. This is an undercover operation that should go unnoticed. If you're as passionate about catching Kira as you say, then believe me that Kira is closer than you'd think._

_\- L_

Gin grinned at the email. "That's odd, he seems to trust you pretty easily."

"Yeah." Nemo adjusted her glasses. "Why would he give me such classified information like that?"

"Maybe cause he likes you." Gin teased.

"That's it. No TV for a month." Nemo demanded, shutting down her laptop.

"Nooo, it's the only thing interesting in this place." Gin whined.

"You should've thought about that before you got in the way of my work." Nemo laughed.

  
The next morning, Nemo was called into work early.

"More victims were found the following night. They also seemed to be exhibiting bizarre behaviors." Mr. Yagami explained.

"I see." Nemo examined the pictures from the scene. "What do you think L? Is this all coincidence?" 

"No, it seems like this was some kind of test. Almost like he doesn't know exactly the extent of his power." There seemed to be a shift in L's overall mood.

Nemo seemed to catch onto his tone of voice. She wondered what was going on in L's head.

  
The mysterious man in question sat in a dark room, thinking intently. Something was buzzing in the detective's head. The main thing was catching Kira, but Ms. Kimura also played a role in his thoughts. She seemed to always say what he was thinking in meetings, and from his records, she used to be a high class detective, but then dropped out of college due to unknown reasons.

The woman sparked an interest in L. She seemed devoted enough in the case for him to trust her. Very few people stood out to L, especially those who he was working with. She was strange.

  
A few days later, Nemo was reading the newspaper for more deaths. One of the deaths seemed to be about a guy in a recent bus-jacking. 

"Just a normal bus jacking, huh." Nemo commented. "Say, I've got a question, Gin. Can shinigami see other shinigami in the human world?"

"Heh, what about it? I'm not gonna tell you if I've seen any or not. Like I've said before, I'm not on anyone's side. I'm merely a spectator, watching as your life goes on." The shinigami explained.

Nemo rolled her eyes. "I suppose I expected that from you." She got up and stretched. "Since you ate everything in the cabinet, again. I'm gonna have to go shopping."

"Go on ahead, I'll stay here." Gin switched on the TV.

"You know you call me boring, but then lay on my couch all day." Nemo said, grabbing her purse.

Gin scoffed, but didn't say anything as Nemo opened the door.

  
After a well rounded shopping spree, Nemo decided to hop on the subway to get home. As she was carrying her groceries, she bumped into a hooded teen, who seemed to be fleeing from the scene. 

Right there in front of the subway doors, a man collapsed and died.

Nemo dropped her groceries, and ran towards the scene of the crime. Apparently, this was one of FBI agents L sent to Japan, but why did this happen? Kira only seemed to be looking after himself.

This only fueled her wanting to catch Kira more.

  
More and more people on the task force started to distrust L, mainly dude to his investigation with the FBI. People in the task force started getting even more petrified at the idea of being killed by Kira.

Soichiro held a meeting soon after, explaining the true dangers of the case.

"It's quite possible that we all might be killed by Kira." Mr. Yagami said. "Think about your own families, and your lives. You won't be demoted if you step down. But, if you're not willing to sacrifice everything for this case, then we don't need you. That is all."

Nemo didn't have to stop and think. Her life's been useless since the moment she was born. She needed to find Kira, and the task force was the only place that she had any leads. She wanted to use her own death note on him. It was the ultimate payback for all his crimes.

Nemo became the only woman in the task force out of 5 men, 6 including Mr. Yagami. 

"The fact that you've chosen to stay means you have a strong sense of justice. I trust all of you." This seemed to be a big step to L.

Nemo felt a sudden wave of comfort wash over her.

"What reason do we have to trust L?" Aizawa rebuted. "We're all risking our lives by showing our names and faces, but you never have to show your face."

"The thought had nearly crossed my mind, after all I did say that I trusted all 7 of you." Typing seemed to appear on the screen. 

The members held a secret meeting outside the headquarters.

"I think we should trust him." Nemo added. "After all, if we're risking our lives, he's willing to risk his too. Kira will be stopped. One way or another."

He requested that the task force members to all meet at a hotel, in different pairs 30 minutes apart.


	4. Face to Face

Anxiety and nervousness seemed to go through Nemo's body. As she turned the knob on the door, and the sudden click signaling that the door was opened, her nervousness suddenly washed away. Nemo and the chief were the first to enter. There, standing before them, was the only and only L. 

Nemo, for some reason, didn't seemed surprised. 

"I am L." He said. The dark haired man didn't seem to smile.

"I am Yagami, of the NPA." Soichiro said, taking out his badge.

The others did the same, taking out their badges.

"I am Nemo Kimura, and I-" 

"Bang." L pointed his fingers into a gun towards the group.

Nemo felt somewhat offended that she didn't get to finish her introduction, but she was overall confused.

"If I were Kira, you'd all be dead." L said. "Kira needs a face and a name in order to commit murder, but I'm pretty sure you've already figured that out, haven't you?"

"Smart-ass, much." Nemo whispered to Aizawa. He simply chuckled.

"That's enough small talk for now. Please turn off all cellphone, handhelds, and any other communication devices, and leave them on the table right there." L gestured to the checkered table next to the group.

"What? You think we're gonna use our cellphones to leak information?" Aizawa yelled, offended.

"It's fine, Aizawa. Do as he says." Mr. Yagami said, putting his phone down.

Nemo sighed, putting her own phone down, and silencing it.

"No, I just find them distracting." L sat down. "I can't stand it when people's cellphones are ringing while I'm trying to talk."

"I guess, I could understand that." Nemo muttered, taking a seat next to L.

He sat in a very peculiar way, his feet on the chair with his knees up to his chest.

Nemo raised her eyebrow. Everyone's eyes seemed to be drawn to L, as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"So, Mr. L," Nemo began.

"I'm gonna have to stop you there, it's Ryuzaki, for now just to be safe." L continued to stir his tea, while Nemo appeared to get agitated.

"Ok, Ryuzaki-" Nemo was interrupted, yet again, this time by Matsuda.

"So, if we know that Kira needs a name and face to kill, then why don't we block all names from the faces of criminals on the media?" Matsuda said.

"Then we'd be putting the general public at risk."

"Wait, why the general public?" Nemo asked.

"Kira is childish and he hates losing." L stopped stirring his tea. 

"What do you mean?" Mr. Yagami asked.

"Well, I am also childish and hate to lose." L took a sip of his tea.

"Like, when Kira didn't hesitate to kill your proxy, Lind L. Taylor. He saw that as a threat to his whole operation." Nemo thought out loud, resting her head on her chin.

L turned over to her. "Exactly, and then, when I said that he was in the Kanto region, he started killing people within Japan, as if he were saying 'what are you gonna do about it?'" 

"We should look for another way we can use the media to draw him out." L turned back to the rest of the group. 

"But, how?"

"Well, how about this? 'Death of FBI agents infuriates the U.S. Latest killings anger the international policing community. Nations agree 1,500 investigators to Japan. He'll start to feel cornered, and that will cause him to take some kind of drastic action." 

Nemo didn't seem to be too on board with L's plan. "Ryuzaki, how do we know that this plan won't back fire?"

"Hmm, well, that brings me to my other theory. Kira was getting valuable information from the task force. On December 14, I had sent a team of FBI agents to Japan, so I suspected that Kira had to be one of the people that the FBI was investigating." L drew his theory in marker on the coffee table. "Here are the files of each FBI agent, and who they were investigating."

'Fascinating.' Nemo thought, holding the file. 'So, that's what he meant when he said Kira was closer than we thought.'

"So, Ryuzaki, when you said that you don't like to lose. Are you not admitting to defeat now by revealing to us your face?" She asked. 

"That's right, by revealing myself to you now, and sacrificing the lives of 12 FBI agents, it seems that I've lost the battle, but I'm not going to lose the war." L's voice seemed to show regret. It was subtle and went unnoticed by most of the staff.

But, Nemo could hear it.

"This is the first time I've ever put my life on the line. I want to show Kira that we're risking our lives, if that's what it takes." L seemed profoundly serious.

Nemo nodded. "I agree. This cannot go on. I'm willing to catch Kira, and to do whatever it takes to find him."

The death note held absurd amounts of power, and the fact that someone as twisted as Kira had one, was unacceptable. 

L chuckled, and gave a little smile. "And that justice will prevail no matter what." 

The group seemed to raise up with glee. 

"I like the sound of that!" Matsuda said.

Nemo smiled back at the detective. "Not bad, Ryuzaki. I guess they don't call you the world's greatest detective for no reason."

"Before we go any further, I have to be absolutely sure that none of you are Kira." L looked over to Nemo. "I'll have to speak with each of you individually, just before we call this meeting off."

'I see, I'm a suspect.' Nemo thought. 'But, if I'm a suspect, why did he give me tell me about the FBI agents?'

When it was Nemo's turn to speak with L, she had a few questions to ask him.

"Ms. Kimura, tell me, how long how you been working with the NPA?" L asked, sitting across from her.

"2 years now. I haven't been here for very long." Nemo answered.

"I see. So, where did you work before?" 

"I was working for the FBI." Nemo smirked. "But, I'm sure you already knew that."

"Right, I looked through your records, but some of them were classified." L said. His dark eyes seemed to bore into her skull. "It says here that you were retired from the FBI for unknown reasons. Why was that?"

Nemo gulped. "Something happened."

"Happened? What happened?"

"I don't have to tell you." Nemo yelled. "It's highly personal information that's for me to know."

"If that's the case, you're the number one suspect for being Kira." L smirked slightly, with his thumb to his lips. "But, if you tell me, I won't be suspicious."

"Fine, I have Lupus. It's an immune disease I inherited from my grandmother and my mother. Unfortunately, my mother didn't survive from it, and she's been dead since I was a little girl. When I was first diagnosed, I felt like my days were numbered. I got into criminal psychology, so that I could feel like I was at least useful for something. I told the doctors to hold my records, because I didn't want anyone to know about my illness." Nemo sighed, deeply. That was the most she's ever said in 4 years. L was gonna see her as a liability.

"Hmm, I understand. That's all I needed to hear." L seemed to dismissed her right away.

"Am I not kicked off the task force?" Nemo asked.

"No, why would I do that?" L said, slightly confused. "Just because you have an illness doesn't mean you're completely useless to the investigation. If anything, you're far from being useless. I need you here in this investigation, because you're smart. I admire your intelligence. That's why I told you about the FBI agents, because I knew that piece of information was useful to you."

Nemo was speechless. 

"On your way out, please tell Matsuda that it's his turn for the evaluation." He said, absent-mindedly.

Nemo nodded, still processing what L said to her. She walked out of the hotel room.

She walked home, with that same nice feeling she had when she entered the hotel room.

She opened the door to see Gin's eyes glued to the miniature TV in her room.

"Ah, you're home. So, did you meet L?" Gin asked, still watching the TV.

Nemo put her coat down, and laid down on the bed. "I did. He was interesting." A smile was placed on her lips.

"Uh oh." Gin laughed. "I know that face."

"What face?" Nemo asked confused.

"That face." Gin pointed his long boney finger towards Nemo.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Nemo said, dismissively.

She laid in her bed, feeling happy. It had been a long time since she'd gotten a peaceful sleep.


	5. Meltdown

The next day, Nemo felt incredibly dizzy. She stumbled her way into the medicine cabinet. 

She took a bottle of gabapentin, and took a couple of pills. She poured herself a glass of water so that she could swallow the pills down. 

She noticed that her medicine was running low, and she needed to get out and get some more.

Gin followed behind her. "Hey, wait up. You know, I'm getting pretty sick of that apartment. Why don't you ever let me follow you."

"You distract me." Nemo muttered.

"Sure, I do, but I'm the one that can help you catch Kira."

"That's true, but I don't need your help." 

'That girl is so stubborn.' Gin thought. 'If that illness doesn't kill her, her stubbornness sure will.'

The cold weather made Nemo feel slightly nostalgic for her time in America.

She began to remember a friend, Naomi Misora. There was pictures of them in her coat pocket. Nemo smiled.

Before she was sick, Naomi helped her on a number of cases. They seemed unstoppable together.

"I wonder how she's doing now." Nemo asked.

"Who?" The shinigami replied.

"Oh, nobody. I was just talking to myself." Nemo continued walking down the crosswalk.

  
"Ms. Kimura, just in time, please take a seat." L said, as she walked in the hotel room.

Nemo took a deep breath, and sat down. 

Behind him was L's assistant Watari.

"Gentleman, and Lady, it's an honor to meet all of you." Watari took off his hat. "Ordinarily, I would never show my face to any of you, but by doing so right now, it's proof that you've won Ryuzaki's trust."

"Well, I guess I do feel a little honored." Matsuda chuckled.

Nemo rolled her eyes at Matsuda. She didn't seem as cheerful as she would other days. Most days she wasn't cheerful, but today, it seemed like there was a cloud over her head.

"Is something wrong, Ms. Kimura? Does the belt not fit you properly?" L asked, monotonously.

"What? No, it's fine." Nemo said. "I'm just thinking about other things."

"Well, I'd focus on the task at hand. Is there anyone at police station now?"

"No." Aizawa said.

"That's not good. Have at least on person there at all times work in shifts if you need to." L said.

Aizawa was the first to go. As the group was conducting their theories, Nemo couldn't seem to pay attention. 

Snow began to fall outside the window. She started feeling lightheaded again. 'Naomi.' Nemo thought. 'Was she in danger? No, that's silly. She's in America.' She got even more nervous. 'Wait, what if she... I have to go find out.'

"Ms. Kimura, are you alright?" Mr. Yagami asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Nemo got up from her chair. "Do you think it's alright if I go down to the police station with Aizawa? I think it's better if two people at a time went."

Yagami looked confused at Nemo, but nodded. "Very well, you may go."

She left in a hurry, and ran through the falling snow. Her glasses began to fog up slightly as she ran.

"You're too late." A voice said to her. But no one was there, not even her shinigami.

"I'm not scared of you. Where is she?" Nemo yelled at the fog. "Kira, you bastard."

There was no response, other than a faint chuckling in the distance.

Her breathing became rugged and her sight was slowly fading. She fell to the ground.

She woke up in a hospital bed. Fear started running through her head.

"Hey, I found you collapsed outside the police station. Are you alright?" Aizawa asked, handing her fake badge.

"Thanks. I'm fine, I just fainted."

"Actually the doctors were saying that you had a heart attack." 

Nemo's eyes widened. "What?"

"Yeah, they said that your heart stopped beating for a moment, and that you stopped breathing." Aizawa said, sitting in a chair next to her. "The rest of the task force with be here shortly. You're lucky that you didn't die by the hands of Kira."

After a little while, Matsuda came running into the hospital room, along with the rest of the task force.

"Nemo, are you ok? We came as soon as we could." Matsuda panted. "We were so worried that-"

"That's enough, Matsuda." Mr. Yagami walked into the room. "Ms. Kimura doesn't need to stress herself out more than she already has."

"As for Ms. Kimura." He turned over and looked at her, with pity in his eyes. "I'm afraid that you're in no condition to help with the Kira investigation. I'm suspending you from this operation."

Nemo gasped, and shook her head. "No, that's not happening."

"That is an order." Yagami's voice lowered. 

"What about risking our lives? I'm dedicated to this case no matter what. If I die, I don't have anyone to mourn me, so you might as well throw me in the belly of the beast." Tears pricked from her eyes, as she begged. "This is all I have, Mr. Yagami."

Mr. Yagami paused for a second. Nemo reminded him of his son. Someone who was brave, courageous, and outgoing. It almost pained him the way Nemo outed herself. 

He put a hand on her shoulder. "Get some rest, Nemo. You really need it."

Nemo nodded, but began to sob lightly.

As Soichiro stepped outside, he saw a black limousin pull up to him.

"Mr. Yagami, may I have a word with you?" L said, stepping out of the vehicle. 

"What is it, Ryuzaki?" Soichiro asked.

"I'm afraid that we need Ms. Kimura on this case." L said.

"Why? Hasn't she gone through enough?" Soichiro asked, offended.

"We need on this case, because her deductible skills are important. As well as, she's the closest we've gotten to Kira." 

Soichiro raised his eyebrow. "Are you saying that she's a suspect?"

"No, but I have a feeling that she's hiding something from the NPA. There's a reason why she's been secretive. I don't think she has any involvement with Kira, in fact, I think that Kira is very personal to her, like she's trying to find a way to make him stop." L said, directly to Soichiro. "Make no mistake, Mr. Yagami, she's a necessity to the Kira investigation, and suspending her now could put us at risk."

L walked back into the limousin. "That is all."

Yagami nodded, walking back into the hospital.

Nemo was still laying there in the hospital bed.

Gin was chuckling, watching from the outside. He found it strange that she even survived. She got to live to see tomorrow.


End file.
